Map game



Jan. 9, 1968 R. s. HARTPENC 3,362,715

MAP GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 12, 1964 @n .n0 l

Jam 9, '1968 R. s. HARTPENCE 3,362,715 n MAP GAME 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledMay l2, 1964 F/GZU F/G. 2c

F/G. V2b

United States Patent O 3,362,715 MAP GAME Robert S. Hartpence, 805Midland National Bank Bldg., Binings, Mom. 59161 Filed May 12, 1964,Ser. No. 366,760 1 Claim. (Cl. 273-134) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A mapgame having playing pieces including a board having thereon a definedgeographic area divided into small hexagonal areas and traversed by aplurality of playing paths. Many of the hexagonal areas have indiciawhich refer the player to one of two decks of cards which in turn haveinstructions regarding various kinds and degrees of fortune ormisfortune. The playing pieces include a marker to show each playersposition on a path as determined by a throw of dice in combination withthe instructions on the cards. The playing pieces also include lootpieces which have a point value and which are accumulated according tothe instructions on the cards. Bonus points are awarded for completingtraverse of the playing paths and for accumulating the most loot.

This invention relates to a game and has as its principal objective toprovide the participants thereof a game which captures the fascinationand excitement existing during the development of the early west.

A further objective of the invention is to provide a game which,although simple in its basic procedures, is -complex enough in itsramifications that the interest of both adults and children will bemaintained while stimulating `both groups to a greater interest in andunderstanding of the historical development of the United States.

Another objective of this invention is to provide a game which mayconveniently and competitively be played by from two to four players.

A still further objective of this invention is to provide a game which,although containing an element of chance, depends primarily on thejudgment and shrewdness of the participants.

In general, the game board is equipped with a plurality of paths along abackground of the state of Montana. The plurality of paths arerepresentative of various stages of historical development undergone bythe state of Montana since post-revolutionary days.

The game reproduces conditions and vernacular existing during theseperiods of development. Representative of the pioneers way of life, theparticipants are subjected to a series of bonanzas and calamitiesimposed by chance and by the actions of other pioneers (participants).

These and other objectives and advantages of the invention will be morefully understood upon a reading of the following specifications taken inview of the attached drawings wherein:

FIGURE l is a plan view of the game board showing the various paths overa background of the state of Montana;

FIGURE lA shows on an enlarged scale a small portion of the game board;

FIGURES 2a, 2b and 2d show the various playing pieces used while thegame is progressing;

FIGURE 2c shows the bag in which playing pieces are placed;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective of the chance elements; and

FIGURE 4 is a representation of each participants position token.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like elements,indicate like parts, the numeral indicates the playing surface of thisinvention. Represented on the surface is a map of the State of Montanadefined by a border 11, and having the following routes indicated acrossthe state or playing surface:

(a) The trail followed by the early explorations of Lewis and Clark asindicated by the numeral 14;

(b) A trail 16 (trappers trail) indicating the principal routes of themountain men and fur trappers after Lewis and Clark and other earlyexpeditions had opened the territory;

(c) A trail 18 (golden trek) indicating the principal routes followed bythe gold and silver mining interests; and

(d) A trail 20 indi-eating a cow track from the south ending at Helena,the capital of `the State of Montana.

It should also be noted that various artistic representations are madein the background to add to the fascination and general attitude of thegames participants. The portion of the surface 10 within the contines ofthe state border 11 is further divided into a plurality of hexagonalshapes or areas which the various trails traverse. These hexagonal areasare indicated by the numeral 24. For purposes of this specification,certain hexagonal areas have been labeled B to represent what wouldnormally 'be light blue on the board, and others labeled C which wouldnormally be light red on the board. Although in the sales embodiment ofthe game, these hexagonal areas will be of the above-mentioned pastelcolors, the C areas will be termed Calamity stations and the B areaswill be referred to as Bonanza stations. Outlines 30 yand 32 areprovided to respectively receive a deck of Calamity cards 60 and a deckof Bonanza cards 62. The indicia on these cards and their purpose willbecome more apparent hereinafter.

The game includes various loot pieces such as cattle 40, pelts (plews)42, and gold nuggets 46. Each game will include approximately twenty ofitems 40, 42 and 46, each having various points of value ranging from 5to 50. The loot pieces are formed of plastic and are manufactured with apermanent point value embossed thereon. Also forming a part of thisinvention are the variously colored player tokens 48 in the form of acowboy on a horse and there will be four of these, one for eachparticipant. In addition, each game will include a pair of dice S0 asthe chance means.

In preparing for the game, the board is placed on a stable surface andeach player selects the participant indicator token 48 of his choice.The board is placed to face a player chosen to actas a loot dealer andscore keeper. The two decks of cards are placed face down on the spaces30 and 32 and the loot tokens 40, 42 and 46 are pla-ced in an opaquecontainer. Each player receives a pouch or poke bag 44 in which to keephis earned loot plus three of the value tokens chosen at random from thecontainer. It is important that each participant keep the point value ofhis loot a secret so that his total value of loot is unknown to theother players.

Play begins with each participant placing his token on the start spaceat Fort Union. The first phase of the game is to follow the trail of theLewis and Clark expedition indicated by the trail numeral 14. Eachplayer sequentially throws the dice but only moves according to thenumber of spaces indicated by one die of his choice. The player alwaysthrows both dice land chooses to move either of the two numbers thrown.If a player throws the same number on both dice, he still movesaccording to only one die but receives an extra throw of the dice. Aparticipant may move either forward as indicated by the arrows on thetrail (FIGURE 1A), or sideways, but never backward unless forced to bydirection of a Calamity card. Throughout the play of the game, it is toparticipants advantage to move forward rapidly while still managing toland on the Bonanza spaces B and avoid the Calamity spaces C. A sidewaysmove is made only to avoid a Calamity space or to attempt to land `on aBonanza space. The variety of play developed through the use ofhexagonal areas or stations should be noted. The hexagonal shape permitsa choice of three forward directions. The rules of the game provide,however, that side movements and backward Calamity movements must herespectively perpendicular and either on or parallel to the trail `beingtraversed.

The accumulation of loot is accomplished by choosing the proper die toland on a Bonanza spa-ce along the various trails` Upon completion ofeach route, a player receives a lbonus of twenty-five points and startsto the next route and receives an eXtra throw or dice at that time. Thetrails must be traveled in numerical order.

As the game proceeds, a player who lands on a Bonanza station draws acard from the correct deck and follows directions accordingly. Sampleindications on the Bonanza cards are as follows:

BONANZA CARDS Indians Friendly Pass BY Two Spaces Cow Haven CollectThree Head of Cattle Hit Mother Lode Collect Two Nuggets Collect ThreeNuggets Good Graze Collect Three Head of Cattle Water Hole Collect Allof One Opponents Critters Fine Fur! Advance 5 Spaces Bonus 50 PointsBeaver Plentiful Collect One Pelt Grass In Abundance Collect Three He adOf Cattle Advance 5 Your Choice Good Camp Site Opponents Forfeit 2 Plews2 Critters l Nugget d Trap Yields Two Plews Gold Strike! Collect TwoNuggets From Any Opponent Advance 4 Your Choice Fur Plentiful BonusPoints China George Movee Three Spotee Fair Weather Advance Three SpacesNo War Paint Advance Four Spaces Defense Card No Loot Lucky Day CollectTwo Loot Tokens From Any Opponent CALAMI'IY CARDS Replenish SuppliesRetreat Two Spaces Gather Buffalo Chips Move Sideways Four Spaces AvoidRapids Move Sideways Two Spaces Blizzard Move Sideways Four Spaces YouRustler Forfeit Your Critters Horses Stampeded Move Back One SpaceBuffalo Stampede Retreat Five Spaces Indians on Warpath Sorry! Lose TurnWhoops! Skunk Invades Camp Back Up One Space Smoke Peace Pipe No MoveIndian Raid Return To Start Of Trail Indian Uprising Move Sideways ThreeSpaces Bear Attack Move Back Three Spaces When all the cards have beenused they are reshuflled and returned to the designated spaces 30 and32. Note that in the Bonanza deck there are several defense cards toprotect a player from an opponent demanding a forfeit of any item ofloot indicated on the Bonanza card drawn by the second player. Thedefense cards may provide permanent protection or only protection forsingle use, a1- though the latter is preferable. There are no defensesto Calamity cards and the instructions must be followed immediately andexplicitly.

The rst player to complete the iirst three trails proceeds on a tripover trail 20 and upon reaching Helena, declares Montana a territory, tothereby end the game. The player ending the game is given 50 bonuspoints and double that amount is given to the player who has accumulatedthe most loot in each category; namely, plews, gold, and cattle, whenthe territory has been declared.

As can be seen, the principal item of strategy is atthe total value ofloot possessed by his opponents (two or more) and makes his claimsaccordingly. During the Course of play, it is obviously better toconcentrate on obtaining loot tokens in order to earn the bonuses foraccumulation ofthe most loot in each category. As the game progresses,the players will gradually develop a sense of how to traverse thevarious trails and benet from the Bonanza spaces and avoid the Calamityspaces. There is, of course, a certain element of fortune in the throwof the dice but there is also involved a great deal of judgment andskill.

In a general manner, while there has been disclosed in the abovedescription what are deemed to be the most practical and eflicientembodiments and processes, it should be well understood that theinvention is not limited to the specific steps and structures described,as there might be changes made without departing from the principle ofthe present invention as comprehended within the scope oftheaccompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A game board apparatus for a plurality of participants comprising aplaying board having thereon a map of a known geographic area andcovering a substantial portion of the boards surface, said portion beingdivided into many smaller hexagonal areas throughout its surface, aplurality of separate playing paths across said portion, each of whichintersects a substantial number of said smaller hexagonal areas, andeach of which has a starting station and an ending station, saidintersected hexagonal areas and the other hexagonal areas adjacent to atleast some of said intersected areas having thereon one or the other oftwo kinds of indicia,

a plurality of pieces of different appearance for division among theparticipants,

a bag for each participant in which to keep his pieces hidden from theother participants,

a first deck of cards the individual cards of which carry instructionsregarding various kinds and degrees of fortune with respect to otherparticipants value pieces, and a second deck of cards, the individualcards of which carry instructions regarding various kinds and degrees ofmisfortune with respect to a participants movement across the board andthe pieces held by him,

a distinctive marker for each participant for registering the positionand movement of each participant along said paths,

chance means for determining the extent of movement of each participanton a particular turn of play.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 452,133 5/1891 Hill 273-134X1,367,261 2/ 1921 Hudon 273-134 1,525,023 2/ 1925 Brown 273-134 X1,529,908 3/ 1925 Newcombe 273-134 1,613,526 1/1927 Nedds 273-1341,738,582 12/ 1929 Johannessen 273-134 2,128,608 8/ 1938 Goertemiller273-134 FOREIGN PATENTS 926,392 4/ 1947 France.

1,327 1915 Great Britain.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner,

